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Most music lovers, if they know the WTC, know it on the piano: in Glenn Gould's brilliant and eccentric performance; in Sviatoslav Richter's spiritually iridescent interpretation; in Edwin Fischer's essential premiere recording, still unsurpassed. Yet, strangely enough in this era of Historically-Informed Performance, recent harpsichord performances are rather difficult to find.
As well as I can determine, this is the only organ performace of the WTC that is now available. This is strange, as the organ was Bach's primary instrument. Indeed, in early drafts of the work, Bach wrote parts unplayable by two hands alone, implying the performance on a pedal instrument. Furthermore, it is doubtless that on a sustaining instrument, the fugal voices come into full relief, whatever the loss in dynamic inflection.
All this said, how is Louis Thiry's performance? Revelatory. While one wouldn't want to be without piano and harpsichord versions of the work, when one wishes to hear the full expression of Bach's contrapuntal aims, one comes to this performance. Thiry's registrations are continually interesting and tasteful, his tempi are well-chosen for the instrument, and his technique is flawless. No less a figure than Olivier Messiaen called him "one of the heroes of music," and while Messiaen was known to be effusive, there is no doubt that Messr. Thiry's musicianship is beyond fault.
It is true that on the organ, this music loses something of its intimacy: rather than the private beauty of Bach's music on the piano or harpsichord, where one can almost imagine Bach in one's living room, in this performance, Bach's music seems to come from some mysterious and eternal realm, and its voices are the voices of angels: distant, terrifying, and radiant with glory."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
